Possession

Summary

Jade Roberts's love for Talon Steel is the real deal, and she's more determined than ever to help him come to grips with whatever is haunting him. To that end, she continues her investigation of the Steels…and unknowingly attracts some dangerous foes from their shrouded history. Talon loves Jade deeply and longs to possess her forever, so he faces his worst fears and exposes his rawest wounds in an attempt to heal. The road is icy and treacherous, but if he perseveres and comes out whole on the other side, he'll finally be worthy of Jade's love. The untamed passion between the two still blazes, but as the horrors of Talon's past resurface, Jade and Talon aren't safe.…

Reviews

It's times like these that I wish I could give a book negative stars. The first two books in the series were horrible and definitely deserved the lowest rating available, but this book is even worse than them. And I apparently AM going to be suckered into reading books four through six, because I didn't want to hurt a friend's feelings, and I really, really need more booze for this shit.It's clear that this "series" was intended to start out as a trilogy featuring Jade and Talon's "love story," but then it became popular for COMPLETELY INEXPLICABLE REASONS THAT I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND TO MY DYING DAY, and so the author is milking out another three books (at least), this time featuring Melanie and Jonah. Oh joy. I just can't wait. As such, the plot about the mystery behind Talon's kidnapping as a child, which really should be wrapped up in this book, plods along with no real end in sight. It's obvious that the author is trying to milk it, and since it continues, I am wondering if the author believes that whatever "romance" she can cook up between Jonah and Melanie just isn't hot enough to carry three more books, so she has to stretch along the mystery to keep people interested. And since this is the "Steel Brothers Saga," I am sure that Ryan will have three books too - and hell, why not throw in Marj since she's also a Steel and turn it into the "Steel Family Saga?" Sigh. This book falls prey to the "just talk to one another, god damn it, and so many misunderstandings will be solved" trope that I fucking hate to read in romance, or, in general, ever. Talon and Jade don't ever really TALK to one another. Whenever they are together, they have "hot" (I disagree with this characterization vehemently - more on that later in this rant) sex. They do, finally, manage to have one serious conversation in this book (when Talon tells her about his captivity and rape), but that is it. How are they so madly in love with one another that they don't even really KNOW one another? Their "tru wuv" romance feels so much more like a rebound relationship for Jade after being left at the altar. I am just not buying it at all.Even though Talon is not talking about his past with Jade (and I accept that part, at least - he has to tell her, but in his own time and when he's comfortable doing so), he gets pissed off at her when she doesn't tell him information that is pertinent to tracking down the monsters of his past. But the thing is, since he doesn't tell her anything about the past, she doesn't KNOW that it is important to him. That doesn't stop Talon from getting so pissed off at Jade that he strikes her (but it's on the butt, and she ends up liking it, so it's okay, right? *eye roll*) and blaming her for keeping things from him. SHE IS NOT PSYCHIC, ASSHOLE. How in the world is she supposed to know that she has information about his past if she isn't even aware of his past? Of course, the reader knows all of this, which primes the reader to side with Talon, but I'm giving a hard NO to that. Jade DOES NOT KNOW. There is no way that she COULD know. Talon is a jackass for expecting her to know things that he's never told her.But Talon's asshole behavior isn't just contained to that episode. He's a dick to Jade throughout most of the series, true, but he gets even more dickish in this book. I know, I know, I didn't think it was possible either - but it is. He tells her, quite out of the blue, that he wants her to be submissive to him all of the time. He wants to order her around, forbid her to do things, etc, and he wants her to be okay with that. Whoa what NO. Then, when she tells him (rather weakly) that she has her own life and she is NOT okay with this, he throws into her face that she is submissive to him in the bedroom, so he doesn't see the problem here, and pretty much lays blame at her feet for being submissive in the bedroom but not willing to carry it over into every aspect of her life and be his effective love slave.HOW DOES ANYONE FIND THIS BOOK TO BE ROMANTIC? Seriously, I have no fucking idea. Talon is a classic "child who was abused now becoming the abuser" in the making, and NO ONE seems to see this!Now, before anyone argues with me, yes, I know there are D/s couples who enjoy this kind of lifestyle, and as long as its consenting adults, I don't give a shit what goes on with their lives - but it's clearly obvious that Jade is NOT okay with any of this in the book. She fights Talon's domineering tooth and nail at times, and at other times she does acquiesce to keep the peace - CLASSIC behavior of an abusive relationship. NOT SEXY. NOT HEALTHY. NOT GOOD.And when Talon finally does tell Jade what happened to him, when she doesn't look at him as less than, he's incredulous. She asks him if he'd look at her differently if it had been she who had been kidnapped and raped. He says no, but it's different for a boy.On the one hand, I can acknowledge that it is different for a boy. In our culture, which is quite misogynistic and homophobic even if people like to pretend it isn't, there's additional layers and circumstances for a boy who has been raped - there's the challenge to his masculinity, of having been penetrated so he must be "gay," etc. As if being gay is a bad thing. And I recall reading, several years ago, a statement from someone (and I can't remember who, sorry) saying that the real reason there is so much homophobia geared towards gay men (but less toward gay women) is that men do not want to be treated like how they treat women, and it's actually fueled by misogyny. And I see that.But on the other hand, I am infuriated, because it lessens a woman victim's assault, because it's "not as bad" as when it happens to a man. You know, rape is rape and it's bad regardless. It's a violation of trust, your body, your way of viewing the world, your power, your ability to choose, and a whole bunch of other shit. And I fucking hate the implied sentiment that it's less traumatizing for a woman because she's made to be fucked by a man, but men aren't made to be fucked at all.Also, apparently therapy is ~*~magic~*~ and solves issues that have been festering for decades in just a couple of sessions! Talon has a "major breakthrough" in just one full therapy session. Gee, I didn't know that it was such a magic cure all! I thought therapy could be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, with little to no progress visualized for months. So glad that is not the case and apparently I did it all wrong as a teenager! And to finish off my rant, the sex was just bad. The sex was always bad, granted, but now the author is clearly just phoning it in at this point. Sex is all that Talon and Jade have going for one another, and the descriptions have devolved into an even lower point. I don't have the energy to dissect how bad the sex scenes are, because I have spent my rage on more weightier, rage-inducing topics, but...once again, I must ask, how does anyone find anything in this book attractive or sexy? God damn it, I do not want to read the next books in this series. I need to find a way to tell my friend that the book series just isn't for me, haha. I can't see how it is for anyone, to be honest. Bad writing, bad characters, bad relationships, and all around bad books. No thanks.

This was more like 2.5 stars. I was frustrated when I finished this. I like the story, I like the characters, but it's dragged out entirely too long. Three books and it's still not over! If the ridiculous amount of sex scenes had been cut in half the actual story could have been finished in this book, not carried over into the next one. As much as I want to find out what happens, I won't be spending the time to continue with the series...I'm just not all that interested in Jonah's story the way I was with Talon's.